HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - August 17, 2018
Published: Fri, 08/17/18
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Don’t Just Hold an HOA or Condo Meeting: Run It!
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In this week’s tip, we offer suggestions that will give you more time to spend with your family. Or your dog. Or your cat. Or by yourself.
Whatever you want to do, we think you should have more time to do it. And we can get you there by making your meetings more efficient without violating any laws or rules and while still allowing your owners to feel heard.
Let’s start with what might be a concession: Your meetings cover a lot of ground, and they can take a while. That’s probably normal—to a degree.
“I’ve been to hundreds of these meetings where they go on, as a rule, for far too long,” reports Bob Kmiecik, a partner at Kaman & Cusimano LLC, which represents associations throughout Ohio. “But I’ve said this to other lawyers here at my firm: I think it’s impossible to have meetings that last less than two hours. For some reason, you can’t get them there.”
Still, Kmiecik says you should still strive to cut out waste and unproductive discussions, not only for your own benefit, but also for the benefit of your owners and your association. “We do tell people association meetings shouldn’t last more than two hours unless you’re involved in litigation,” he says. “If you’re just handling the day-to-day stuff and you’re going more than two hours, you start to lose people’s attention after a while, especially since many of these meetings are in the evenings.”
Robert E. Ducharme, founder of Ducharme Law in Stratham, N.H., who specializes in representing community associations, agrees. “When meetings are long, rambling, and undisciplined, owners stop coming,” he contends.
Our experts regularly advise boards on how to make meetings shorter and more productive. They propose four ways you can accomplish that goal. Here’s the first:
Don’t get too comfortable. “Often, meetings involve sitting in someone’s unit until 11 p.m. sipping a glass of wine,” notes Kmiecik. “I tell my boards to have their meeting at a library that closes at 9 p.m., where the staff will be throwing you out when they close.
“You don’t want to have to schedule a time to come back next week to finish your meeting,” he states. “As it gets closer to that 9 p.m. closing, you’re going to be more productive getting things done.”
You can read all 4 Ways to Shorten Your Condo or HOA Meetings in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/3771.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Don't Just Hold an HOA or Condo Meeting: Run It!
In this week's tip, we offer suggestions that will give you more time to spend with your family. Or your dog. Or your cat. Or by yourself. Whatever you want to do, we think you should have more time to do it. And we can get you there by making your meetings more efficient without violating any laws or rules and while still allowing your owners to feel heard.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/Dont-Just-Hold-HOA-or-Condo-Meeting-Run-It.cfm
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4 Ways to Shorten Your Condo or HOA Meetings
Do your association meetings seem to drag on into the wee hours of the night? Do you believe you'd get much better attendance if they weren't so long?
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4-Ways-Shorten-Your-Condo-or-HOA-Meetings.cfm
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Don't Let Your Condo or HOA's Water Bill Drag Your Budget Underwater
In this week's tip, we sound an alarm: Your water bill has probably risen, and it'll probably keep rising. In the past decade, water bills in Chicago have more than tripled, according to Food and Water Watch, a national nonprofit organization advocating for safe, sustainable, accessible, and affordable water and food. A new utility tax increase and water system renovations are expected to push bills even higher by 2020, it contends.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Dont-Let-Your-Condo-or-HOAs-Water-Bill-Drag-Your-Budget-Underwater.cfm
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Saving Money: Can You Reduce Your Condo or HOA's Water Bills?
In the past decade, water bills in Chicago have more than tripled, according to Food and Water Watch, a national nonprofit organization advocating for safe, sustainable, accessible, and affordable water and food. A new utility tax increase and water system renovations are expected to push bills even higher by 2020, it contends.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Saving-Money-Can-You-Reduce-Your-Condo-or-HOAs-Water-Bills.cfm
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Townhome Roof Repair: How to Get It Done
An HOAleader.com reader asks, I'm an owner of a townhouse, one of eight homes in one building under one roof. Our HOA has 31 buildings with 4, 6, or 8 townhomes in each building.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Townhome-Roof-Repair-How-Get-It-Done.cfm
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